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A Field Guide to Southwest Jewelry · by Mateo James

Carico Lake Turquoise: Field Guide to Nevada's Apple-Green Classic

← Field Guide

Carico Lake turquoise comes from the Carico Lake Valley in Lander County, Nevada — a prehistoric mining area first recorded as a modern claim in 1909. The mine is best known for its range of colors, including the apple-green zinc mineral faustite, and it is still actively mined today under owner Ernie Montoya.

Mateo's Field Notes

Stone tools found in the Carico Lake Valley put Native miners here long before the claim books open. The first recorded mining activity came in 1909, and in 1930 August Stenich claimed the area using his Austrian girlfriend's name, Aurora. Through the years the valley's turquoise has gone to market under many names and many owners — one of them Stone Cabin — and, the Lowrys note frankly, a good share of its production "has been mined, marketed, and sold by multiple claim jumpers." (LOWRY ~lines 12428–12472)

Gus Stenich worked his claims alone and had lost enough turquoise to scavengers to earn a reputation as a suspicious, ornery character — though he trusted the young J. W. Edgar "like he was his own son." It was from Carico Lake that William "Lucky" Brown and J. W. Edgar were mining when the letter arrived offering them the turquoise rights at Morenci — a reminder of how tightly the Nevada and Arizona turquoise stories interlock. (LOWRY ~lines 6783–6794, 11948–11957)

What sets the stone apart is chemistry. Faustite — identified in 1953, with zinc substituting in the mineral structure — was identified at the Carico Lake Mine, and it is what gives the mine's famous apple-green material its color. The area has produced "many colors of turquoise as well as the apple green mineral faustite." (LOWRY ~lines 5416–5420, 12468–12470)

Carico Lake is also a rare window into what mining actually costs. Current owner Ernie Montoya told the Lowrys his mine "produces up to two thousand pounds of turquoise in about five to six months worth of work for five to seven people," running a D-9 bulldozer, backhoe, water truck, dump truck, and hand tools — "it cost me about $5,000 per week to mine." (LOWRY ~lines 7294–7348)

Collector's Handbook: How to Recognize Carico Lake Turquoise

  • Color tells: A wide color range is the signature; the apple-green faustite material is the mine's calling card and the corpus-documented tell. (LOWRY ~lines 12468–12470)
  • Provenance caution: Documented claim-jumper production and multiple marketing names (including Stone Cabin) mean labels vary — when the name drives the price, ask for the mine source in writing. (LOWRY ~lines 12460–12470)
  • Neighborhood check: Red Mountain and the Northern Lights claims sit in the same valley; material from the east side of the Carico Lake Valley may carry those names instead. (LOWRY ~lines 12645–12651, 12726–12737)
  • Mine status: Active — owned by Ernie Montoya of Albuquerque, New Mexico, as of the Lowrys' 2010 account, with a working crew and heavy equipment. (LOWRY ~lines 7294–7348, 12470–12472)

References

  • Lowry, Joe Dan, and Joe P. Lowry. Turquoise: The World Story of a Fascinating Gemstone. Gibbs Smith, 2010. ~lines 5416–5420, 6783–6794, 7294–7348, 11948–11957, 12428–12472.
  • Dubin, Lois Sherr. The Glittering World: Navajo Jewelry of the Yazzie Family. Harry N. Abrams, 2014. ~lines 3257–3268 (Carico Lake named among the celebrated Nevada mines).

Related Entries

The Edgar-family thread runs on to Morenci and Stormy Mountain. For what green color means in grading, see turquoise color and grading.

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